Why da Vinci rules

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Renaissance poster boy Leonardo da Vinci races up the popularity charts among the youth the world over. Milan takes notice</span><br /><br /></div> <div align="right" style="position:relative; left: -3"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="right" border="0" width="43.2%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" d9d9d9=""> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Leo''s cool quotient</span></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">How''s this for multi-tasking?</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* Leonardo da Vinci''s illustration of the Vitruvian Man is often used as an implied symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body, and by extension, to the universe as a whole.The rediscovery of the mathematical proportions of the human body by Leonardo and others is considered one of the great achievements leading to the Italian Renaissance. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* He designed machines, parachutes, canals, cathedrals, submarines and tanks as an engineer-architect-inventor. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">* His Mona Lisa or La Gioconda is one of the most famous paintings in the world, with its mysterious smile sparking off a million conspiracy theories.</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">Leonardo lives, and yes, he rocks. And the youth the world over, are keeping the faith. Leonardo da Vinci, the poster boy of the Renaissance, is notching up as many young fans as his i-Gen <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Titanic</span> namesake, making Italy sit up and take notice.<br /><br />The renewed public interest in the artist-inventor has now roused Milan''s museum mandarins into making his life and works more dude-friendly. "We realised that more Japanese have seen <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The Last Supper</span> than Italians themselves, and now''s the time to change that," says Michele Perini, Chairman of Milan''s National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci. <br /><br />Perini who was in Mumbai recently, mentioned how the growing interest in the Renaissance genius has prompted them to introduce programmes targeted towards the younger generation. The interest among the youth they say has increased in part, thanks to the popularity of the bestseller <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The Da Vinci Code</span>. <br /><br />What''s da Vinci''s rock star appeal? Simple. He invented wildly fantastic flying machines centuries before they were a twinkle in the eye, painted like a dream and to add some more mystery, often indulged in mirror-writing. "Young minds are only now getting to know da Vinci''s inventiveness," says Perini. And for that tingle of controversy that makes every rock idol kosher, come the recent debates on his mystical leanings, again thanks to the book. Was that Mary Magdalene in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The Last Supper</span>? Why was the Mona Lisa smiling? No wonder then, that kids are hooked. "We have 3,50,000 visitors, of which 2,50,000 are pupils of primary and secondary schools," informs Perini. "Now we have student volunteers so that the programmes can reach out to the young in their own language." <br /><br />With the buzz building around da Vinci, Milan, where the Tuscany-born genius spent his later years is now claiming its place in the chronicles of one of its favourite sons. Da Vinci worked as engineer/architect/ sculptor/ painter/musician for the court of Ludovico Sforza, and began working on <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The Last Supper</span>. Milan''s museum has models of his machines like the flying ship, equipped with wings, and the mechanical weaving loom, which Perini says could well be used even today. "We''d love to take the gadgets across the world, because we believe a museum is not just about memories," he says. Da Vinci an unlikely youth icon? Not really, says Perini, considering the explosive combination of talent that the artist conjured up. He concludes, "When science, history and art come together, who can resist it?" <br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic=""><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></span></div> </div>